Changing Paths
by Vycksta
Summary: This was it. After so long of thinking about it Bryony and her beloved Jolteon were finally off to Sinnoh. However both of them were not expecting what they got and so paths had to be changed...


**Title**: Changing Paths  
**Fandom**: Pokemon  
**Ship**: Snowstormshipping (( Jolteon x Glaceon ))  
**Rating**: Suitable for all, just beware the swear words.

**Authors Notes**: Hey White, I hope you like the slow burning one-shot as this takes a long time for the romance to get going...

Snowstormshipping. Jolteon x Glaceon. One of two all Pokemon OTPs that my best friend of over five and half years hearts insanely and the one which I wrote about for this best friend not only to dedicate to her, but as a birthday present. Have a damn good 20th Bryony, you have been there for me through thick and thin and I hope that we stay friends for a long time to come. Oh yeah... might as well let you know that I DID attempt to write Addictionshipping as I know it's your current all time OTP, but I couldn't. Hatred of Spenser is way too deep.

Sappiness inside, I hope all who read this one-shot enjoy it enough to leave a review, especially Bryony. I know that writing about a trainer with an Eeveelution for a Pokemon is always asking for trouble, but I hope I gave it some justice.

Flamers can just plainly die but all contructive criticism is accepted as I always seek to improve. Also forgive any typos I made and forgot to notice as I don't have a beta reader and never will har de har.

---

"Weather wise it's such a lovely day, you just say the words..."

"How about you be quiet then, you silly young fool."

"Say what? Aww, come on you twat... it's not like I was disturbing anybody, was I?"

Upon asking that question the young woman who was actually singing despite her vocal range being very out of key turned her head around to clock the many tutting expressions upon the faces of the people within close range to her, including that which belonged to the rather pompous older woman who bluntly told her to shut up. Letting a sigh escape her lips she jumped down from the barrier she was standing on and gave a death glare to the older misery before leaning back against the barrier, letting the elegant breeze caress her flame coloured hair and twist it into all sorts of strange new styles.

"Ah well, at least you liked the song, didn't you Jolteon?" the cheerful female asked, looking down at the spiked mass of sunshine yellow and snow white.

"Jolt!" was the adamant reply from the Lightning Pokemon, who then leaped up the barrier so he could not only admire the picturesque views but to be closer to his trainer, who gave him a friendly ruffle on the head.

For a time span that lasted around eighteen months, it was always a dream of the flame haired female to explore the latest region that had opened itself and all of its magnificent glory to trainers, coordinators and travellers alike... the glorious and entertaining Sinnoh. As a girl who had been travelling with her Pokemon since the day she reached double figures she was looking forward to this adventure very much, especially as she had already travelled around the historic and rugged region of Hoenn and seen what she had wanted to encounter. Having previously been to Johto to explore the mysteries surrounding the Ruins of Alph and having a fair few battles along the way, Sinnoh would mark the fourth region that she was about to discover if you were to count her home region, the mesmerising Kanto, to the fray. Going to Sinnoh was something she had been looking forward to and finally, her one and a half year dream was starting to come true thanks to her Mother buying her a ticket to board the streamlined liner S.S Tidal, a present to mark it being a full decade since the girl first left home to explore Kanto in all its glory and not just wander around her home city of Viridian.

The ten years of travelling that bestowed itself upon the headstrong female brought her many memories that she liked to relive in her mind time and time again. In Kanto she got her very first Pokemon from the experienced researcher Professor Oak, a spirited Squirtle. Together her and the Squirtle visited every town and city and engaged in many battles that saw her young Pokemon grow not only in experience but in form as he eventually became a mighty Blastoise. Kanto was also the region that the busybodies at Game Freak in Celadon City worked, who strangely gave the then ten year old girl an Eevee in a Pokeball, who then became the loyal Jolteon that has stuck with her through thick and thin. Throughout the rest of her Kanto journey, the three years she endured in Johto that saw her see all the ancient mysteries and all the times spent in Hoenn the courageous and ever faithful Jolteon was there to also witness the tale with his trainer. Jolteon also boasted the honour of being the only Pokemon to be by the side of the female constantly. Blastoise was sent back to the girls Mother and younger sister in Viridian halfway through the exploration of Johto and both the girls Linoone and Mightyena were only caught in Hoenn, more than five years later. There was also Pidgeot, Murkrow, Houndoom, Manectric, Kingdra... they all came and went for a multitude of reasons...

"Oh my gosh! Look Jolteon, look!" the flame haired female squealed excitedly, spitting out some stray hairs that were blown into her mouth while nudging the elemental creature, who was in a content daydream. "Can you see it?" she asked with even more delight, lifting her Pokemon up a few feet. "It's Snowpoint City! We are soon going to be in Sinnoh!"

Dark eyes blinked a few times as Jolteon snapped out of his daydream to observe the city that was coming nearer to them with each passing second. Eventually he too let out an excited squeal, with caused his trainer to go into a mode that can only be described as insane. Bounding around the deck of the liner with relentless energy and with her faithful Pokemon still in her arms, she started to sing again... but instead of it being the song that was sung before, this was only a small chant which oozed determination, excitement and contentment all in one.

"Sinnoh better watch out, it better not cry, it better not pout i'm telling you why! Bryony White is coming... to town!"

"Oh can't you please be quiet!" scolded the miserable old woman who told off the twenty year old Bryony about ten minutes ago.

"Just fuck off already." Bryony coldly snapped back, earning herself a gleeful laugh from her pride and joy, her Jolteon.

Ninety minutes after the elegant liner S.S Tidal parked itself in the crystal clear waters that surrounded the port of Snowpoint City, Bryony had finally managed to get herself checked into the local Pokemon Center, booking herself to stay in one of its luxurious rooms for the next three nights while she got her bearings, did some map reading and understood all the main attractions that each of the towns and cities of Sinnoh had to offer. In that short space of time her keen sense of smelling sugary things also drew her towards a local ice cream parlour, a relatively new building that looked like it was doing a fantastic trade. Ordering herself a chocolate sundae with cherry sauce and a vanilla soda to wash the sweet taste away, Bryony took this time out to sit at a table with the map she bought from the Pokemon Center and begin to analyse the areas nearest to Snowpoint, checking after a few minutes to make sure that the three Pokeballs she had taken with her were still attached to her belt. One for her gutsy Linoone, one for her physical sweeping Mightyena and of course, the third for her ever faithful Jolteon, who was probably napping himself.

Bryony got engrossed into the map so very quickly that the time was flying by and new customers to the ice cream parlour were coming in and out like nobodys business. Some were trainers, treating themselves to a sweet delight before getting ready to engage in battles at the gym which also resided in the city. Others like Bryony were travellers, enjoying the sights one more time before boarding the fleet of boats in the port ready to explore elsewhere. However one was a young girl who at the moment only wanted a place to sit down so she could enjoy her banana split. Her light blue eyes noticed that the seat opposite to Bryony was free and happily walked over to sit herself down and enjoy her dessert. She gave a glance at Bryony to try and make her acquaintance but not nothing in reply as the one with hair as orange as a perfect sunset was still very much mesmerised with her map. Not one to be ignored the younger girl purposely let out a loud cough, which brought Bryony out of her trance in one sudden moment.

"Aaaah! I feel a complete idiot... I didn't see you there." Bryony said as way of an apology, with a slight shock to her voice as she had no clue how long her table was actually shared.

"Don't sweat it!" was the reply of the younger girl, tucking a small group of midnight black hairs which had escaped the ponytail confinement they were in behind her ears before helping herself to a big spoonful of her banana split. "Just making sure you knew I was here."

Folding her map back into its original state, Bryony nodded as her response to what the younger girl said and was just about to say her goodbyes and head back to the Pokemon Center when the banana spilt hoarding female spoke again, wiping a small bit of vanilla ice cream from her chin.

"New to Sinnoh then?"

"Yeah, been here now about... three, maybe four hours? I'm here to explore though, not to battle my way through the gyms and all that crap."

"Ah, so you are a traveller like me!" exclaimed the younger girl in joyous glee, spitting out whatever ice cream she had in her mouth all over the table, which made Bryony wince in slight disgust. "I've only been travelling for about a year and a half but I now feel i'm ready to go further than Sinnoh, which is my home region... Oreborgh City is where I come from, if you must know." she exclaimed cheerfully, expressing all the delight that a young teenager ready to go into a different region would show.

"I see..." was the reply from the older woman who was partly trying to get away. Yet before long, the two girls found themselves in deep conversation. After saying introductions Bryony learned that Laura was the name of the young ice cream spitter and that she had turned thirteen a few weeks ago. Laura had started her journey with the creatures of elemental magic a year after the starting age of ten, as her Father had taken ill with a very bad virus which he had now fully recovered from. Like Bryony she too only had three Pokemon with her as she was hoping to catch "new and exotic" Pokemon in Hoenn, where she was going to go in three days time. Until then she was going to stay in Snowpoint, which suited Bryony in a way as she could then know more about Sinnoh from a person who has lived there all her life. Laura also had an average battle record, something which Bryony admitted she also had. Ten years of travelling and the older woman's battle record stood at... according to her Pokedex... "Fought 307, won 152, drew 4, lost 151."

"Whoa, now that is a very close record! That is not average to me!"

"If you say so..." Bryony sighed, shrugging off Laura's admiration of the number of battles she had partaken in. "I have seen trainers with strong, powerhouse Pokemon who get the victories left, right and centre because they choose the best, but I for one like to battle with my favourites. Always have done, always will."

"That is exactly how I play the game too." Laura nodded contently, using the spoon to trace the inside of the bowl that her banana split was in. "If I win with the Pokemon I like the most and have been with the most then that's good in my book..." she exclaimed while trailing off, developing an idea in her little mind while staring into the eyes of Bryony. Whatever the idea was Bryony seemed to be sharing it as well, countering Laura's stare with relative ease.

"Say Bryony, do you fancy a Pokemon battle?"

"I thought you'd never ask."

Overhead the sky was starting to change colour from a clear light blue into a light orange and the sun was coming slowly down, making sure that everyone saw its presence before disappearing for the night. The wind had picked up a little bit more since Bryony's arrival to Snowpoint City... it wasn't enough to blow hats off heads or make people comment on its fury but it was the right strength to scoop fallen leaves off the ground and sashay them around in an elegant dance. Outside the Pokemon Center a small area of ground was completely bare save for one drawn circle of white chalk... the area for Bryony and Laura's battle.

Standing along the eastern edge of the circle was Bryony, arms folded with a determined look on her face. This was one battle she wanted to win, to show to Laura that people from other regions were also a force to be reckoned with. This of course meant that Laura was on the western edge of the circle, arms by her sides and a look that matched Bryony's in terms of confidence and prowess... for she wanted to show that she may be young but she was a fair and persevering battler, like all other trainers Bryony would encounter in Sinnoh. The two girls were not the only ones on the edge of the circle however, for a small crowd of around twenty people had gathered to see the upcoming fight. Some were young, some were old... but all were geared up to witness something great, which is what both Bryony and Laura wanted too.

Bryony took a step forward, which in turn prompted Laura to do the same. Spitting out yet more stands of hair from her mouth, Bryony was the one to speak first.

"Seeing as we both have three Pokemon each, it's fair to say that we battle until all three Pokemon from one person have been knocked out. Agreed?"

"Sounds good to me!" Laura hollered out her reply, clenching her fists together and pumping them in the air. "So..." she continued, "You're the newcomer to the region, you can show me your Pokemon first!"

"If that's what you want..." Bryony spoke in a confident manner, left arm on her hip while her right headed towards her belt where her trio of creatures were kept. "Cause trust me..." she trailed off slightly as she grabbed one of the Pokeballs and giving it a chaste kiss, "I'll make you see that sometimes it pays to have a sweeper in your team! Mightyena, I choose you!"

Bryony launched the Pokeball into the air with that ever confident manner and as she did so brilliant flashes of white started to emerge from the spherical object. Within seconds the Pokemon opened not only to let out more of the same brilliant lights but to also let out Bryony's sweeper of the team, her never say die Mightyena. The Bite Pokemon emerged with every bit of confidence, flicking his flowing mane of black locks as if he has just scored himself a contract with a hair gel company. Mightyena had every right to be boastful though, he often pulled back the victories with his range of varying elemental mouth attacks. Letting out a roar which startled Laura and gained an "Aaaah" of approval from the watching crowd, Mightyena turned to look at Bryony, who then pointed at Laura.

"So come on then dammit, show me what you have got!" she said with a slight tone of arrogance.

"Don't you get cocky just yet!" Laura screeched, whipping one of her Pokeballs from her belt and hoisting it behind her. "This Pokemon hasn't let me down when he's been the first out and he won't this time, even if you do have the type advantage! Come on forth, my Gengar!" the younger female screamed louder, spinning the Pokeball into the air.

More of the brilliant white lights followed as Gengar took his time of getting out of the Pokeball, displaying a confidence and arrogance as any Pokemon who had a one hundred percent battling record when being the first out would. The dark purple shadow with a grin to rival the Cheshire Cat stretched once fully emerged from his confinement, looking down at Bryony's Mightyena as if he was crap on some random strangers shoe. This cocky look angered Mightyena enormously, roaring his anger at the Gas Pokemon, who only laughed at the entire thing.

"A Gengar... where did you get one of those from?" Bryony asked with a slight questioning tone to her voice, as she was unsure whether the Gastly line were Pokemon that could actually be caught in Sinnoh's vast lands.

"Given to me by my uncle as a Gastly when he visited Johto around this time last year." was the reply of the younger female, said with a tone of speed for she was itching to get going. "Now then..." Laura spoke louder to break the sounds of the two Pokemon and to once again get the attention of the crowd, who were very interested in how both Gengar and Mightyena displayed an instant dislike towards each other. "Let's get this party started!"

"Yes!" Bryony called back simply and sharply, the only reason being was that Gengar as a species were generally faster than the Mightyena species and so wanted to see Laura's strategy as soon as possible.

"Alright! Gengar, open this battle up and close down that Mightyena's eyes with a Hypnosis attack!"

"Geeeeeeeeeeengar!" came the battle cry of Laura's Pokemon, putting his hands in front of himself to attempt to lull Mightyena's attention towards him. An eerie sound was made as Gengar started his ritual, producing a series of circular rose pink waves that progressed with ease towards the Mightyena of Bryony's. However the physical sweeper of the flame haired females team only roared with delight as the attack had no effect on him. This frustrated Gengar, who suddenly gained a bust of speed and charged towards Mightyena, gaining a gasp from the crowd.

"I don't think so!" Bryony cried with defiance, both fists clenched in front of her chest. "Mightyena, Ice Fang right now!"

The midnight black Pokemon didn't need telling twice, hoisting himself up into the air to dodge the incoming charge of Gengar. The teeth of the Bite Pokemon gained a shimmer of a cold blue as Mightyena landed right by the slightly dazed Gengar and clamped his newly coloured jaw line down on the Gas Pokemon, who let out a roar of pain. Mightyena leaped backwards to admire his work, work that was also jointly admired by not only the crowd but his trainer, who let off a small cackle of joy.

"Gengar, don't give up!" Laura hollered, ignoring the laugh that Bryony emitted. "Counter it with a Focus Blast!"

"Focus Blast?" Bryony was quick to question. "What in the blazes in that?"

"Call it Gengar's welcome to Sinnoh, baby!" Laura cheerfully replied as both Bryony and her Mightyena looked on with confusion. This attack was new to both of them and all they could do was look on somewhat helplessly.

Gathering up all the strength within him, Gengar let out a roar of strength and arrogance as he launched himself towards Bryony's Mightyena a second time, this one with ten times more power than the first charge. Dark purple shadow collided with a shocked midnight black hyena hybrid forcefully, sending the Bite Pokemon halfway across the makeshift battle arena. Mightyena himself let out a roar but this roar was one of complete pain, as he skidded along the dirt as if he was a leaf the winds from earlier was scattering about. Bryony also let out a cry of horror as it finally twigged to her that Focus Blast was indeed an attack of the Fighting element, one that was super effective against the Dark element that Mightyena possessed... and as the crowd hollered in amazement, Mightyena fainted, colliding with the ground and causing an alarming thud.

"Mightyena..." Bryony sighed, pointing the Pokeball at her exhausted and unconscious Pokemon. "Return..." she said with equal disappointment as a solid red beam of light made its way with definite ease towards her sweeper Pokemon, gathering him up in a matter of seconds.

"Ha ha ha!" Laura cackled, throwing her head back as an attempt to gain added effect. "Looks like my Gengar not only keeps his pristine record but also scored a critical hit with just one mere attack! Ha, the defences on that Pokemon of yours must be..."

"Shut the fuck up right there!" Bryony screamed with fury at Laura, partly cause she was pissed off at the complete arrogance the thirteen year old just displayed and partly because the twenty year old was highly angered at herself for not commanding her Mightyena to start off with Crunch, which would have scored a super effective hit. "This is not over yet and you fucking well know that!"

"Okay there girl, calm down..." Laura said with a more relaxed tone to her voice which in turn calmed Bryony down a little, but not enough.

"I'm going to wipe that smug grin off your Gengar's face right here, right now!" the resident of Kanto called out, whipping a Pokeball of her belt as if it was only attached by one fibre. Eyeing up first the laughing Gengar, then the now somewhat concerned Laura and then at the awaiting crowd, Bryony flung her Pokeball into the air confidently.

"Teach this git some manners, my pride and joy!"

Once again the lights that surrounded the Pokeball were of a brilliant white and they circled the object for a few seconds before the Pokeball opened up. The lights now changed to a light sunshine yellow as Bryony's second elemental monster entered into the battle arena. Standing at two foot seven the new Pokemon to the fray looked at Gengar with anger at knowing that this Pokemon was the one who knocked out his comrade Mightyena. Sparks emitted from the brilliant yellow and white coat as Bryony's pride and joy hollered out its battle cry.

"Joooooooooooooooooolteon!"

"Trust me my young friend..." Bryony said as soon as Jolteon finished its cry, folding her arms and giving off a very confident smirk which got the crowd wondering. "You will not find this Pokemon so easy to beat."

"We will see, won't we? Gengar, start things off with a Hypnosis again!"

"Jolteon, counter with Thunder Wave!"

The crowd watched with eyes wide open as both Jolteon and Gengar geared up their attacks. Gengar once again held his arms in front of himself and started to emit those same circular pink waves again but Jolteon leaped into the air with grace before the first wave could come in contact with him. Gathering up the sparks around his body Jolteon formed a circle of his own... one full of electricity and power. Landing behind Gengar with caution as to not to fall over the Lightning Pokemon sent his wave charging straight forward. Thunder Wave's effect was instant as Gengar let out a cry of pain from the feeling of paralysis.

"Gaaaaaaah!" Laura screeched, slapping the palms of her hands against her face. "Come on Gengar... don't give up."

"Looks like he already has..." Bryony spoke nonchalantly as Jolteon admired his work. Both of them knew it wasn't over yet however and so the tone of Bryony's voice got a lot sharper once the feeling of having the edge had been placed to one side. "Alright Jolteon, let's get shocking and get that bastard with a few Thunderbolts!"

"Gengar! Ignore the paralysis and hit that Eeveelution with a Focus Blast!" shouted Laura.

The next couple of minutes seemed to pass by in a bit of a blur. The dark purple creature that was Gengar once again focused his energies into one attack but the feeling of not having control over his body proved to be his downfall, sending furious blasts of fury all over the makeshift arena. The bright yellow creature that was Jolteon dodged all of the attacks with ease while creating his own energies, forming them into bright white thunderbolts that had one target in mind. Two Thunderbolts collided with Gengar and sent him halfway into the air but before he landed into a heap on the ground he sent forward his last Focus Blast which hit Jolteon straight on the head. The yellow Eeveelution roared with pain as he was sent into the air himself. Both Pokemon landed on the ground at the same time in rather awkward positions but whereas Jolteon sprang up after a mere two seconds Gengar was struggling, the effects of being paralysed surely taking its toll. The crowd gasped in unison, Laura gasped with shock... and Bryony spoke with pride.

"Jolteon, finish Gengar off with a Shadow Ball attack!"

"Jolt jolt!" was the rallying reply to Bryony's command as Jolteon started to form a new purple energy that was as dark as the night sky that had just bestowed upon the people of Snowpoint City. This shadowy mass collected itself into one large sphere of dark fury and Jolteon sent this sphere on its way towards Laura's Gengar with one steely whack of his paw. By this time Gengar had finally struggled to his feet but it was too little too late as the Shadow Ball attack smacked into him with all the ferociousness of a stampede of rampaging Tauros. One final scream from the Gas Pokemon and that was it... with the last of his hit points gone Gengar fainted to the ground hardly, sending up a dust cloud around his body. The crowd cheered for Jolteon as Bryony took the applause and Laura sent Gengar back into his Pokeball.

"Looks like I was wrong to get cocky there Bryony... that Jolteon sure is one tough cookie to knock out my precious."

"Eeeeh..." Bryony shrugged off the new wave of flattery that she got from Laura. "Let's just keep this momentum going... i'm feeling rather confident now!"

"Well don't be!" Laura called out rather coldly. "Because trust me when I say you haven't seen nothing yet!" Grabbing the second Pokeball with relish, Laura launched it straight in front of her as quickly as she could. "Bryony and Jolteon... prepare to meet your downfall!"

Bryony, Jolteon and the ever hungry for battle crowd watched with intent as the Pokeball opened up in another show of glorious lights. The lights surrounding this Pokeball however were not white; they were of a cold, icy blue. Small stars of the same colour shot out in all directions as Laura's second Pokemon made its elegant entrance. With all the grace and beauty of a catwalk queen the newcomer flicked its pair of what appeared to be icy pigtails before forming a sitting position and lifting its head into the air to let out its cry.

"Glaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaceon!"

"Whoa!" was all Bryony could say at Glaceon's appearance. She had heard of the rumours that scientists and researchers had discovered that Eevee could evolve into two new evolutions... one of grass and once of ice... but she had dismissed it until right this very moment.

"Jolteon?"

"Glaceon?"

"Jolt!"

"Ceeeeeeeeee!"

"Pretty impressive, don't you think?" Laura spoke snobbishly, flicking her hand open in front of her face while taking in both the wonderings of the crowd and what seemed to be a rather interesting conversation going on between her own Glaceon and the Jolteon that belonged to the still shocked Bryony. "I'll have you know that she is a very good special sweeper, my Glaceon."

"Glaceon!" Laura's Eeveelution replied with glee, not taking her eyes off Bryony's Jolteon for a second. This was matched by Jolteon, who seemed to be looking at this new Pokemon with wonder and admiration...

"Aww, WHATEVER!" Bryony shouted, adopting her ever familiar pointing stance before calling out to Jolteon. "We may now know much about this Pokemon, but show her that we mean business! Thunder Wave!"

What happened next though came as a shock. Instead of forming a wave of electrical energy around himself to start off the Thunder Wave attack that was commanded by Bryony, Jolteon just continued to stare into Glaceon's eyes, sitting himself down to take in the gorgeous view in front of him. A view of a creature of both an ice and a sea blue, a creature who seemed so determined and yet so fragile and concerned, a creature who was completely stunning from the tips of her ears to the end of her stylish tail, a creature of pure sexiness. It was like he was on another world... a world where the sun shone brilliantly and everything that surrounded the residents of this fantasy world was coloured a bright and vibrant red, the colour that signalled love...

Bryony couldn't believe what she was seeing and shook her fists in frustration. "Dammit Jolteon, what are you fucking playing at?"

Laura cackled with sincere glee, thinking that this was her one big chance to seize the moment without even breaking up into a sweat for this round. "Ha ha, Bryony's Pokemon is losing his touch..." she began cockily, angering Bryony even more as she was upset about Jolteon's unintentional ignorance of her command. "Now Glaceon, open up with a hailstorm!"

Glaceon turned to look at Laura, her pale blue face showing deep concern. She then deftly turned her head away to stare some more at Jolteon, a smile forming on her face. It was like she was living in a dream. One minute she was still contained inside her Pokeball wondering where her life was going to take her or what battle she was going to partake in next... and in the very next minute she found herself looking at a creature of yellow and white, a creature who seemed so strong yet at the same time so caring, a creature who was handsome from the top spikes on his head to the claws on his paws, a creature of pure loveliness. Glaceon soon found herself on the same fantasy world as Jolteon and now a new scene was forming... a scene in which the two Pokemon bounded down a rose red meadow singing songs of love and desire in a language that only the two could understand...

"Glaceon..."

"Jolteon..."

"JOLTEON! SNAP THE FUCK OUT OF THIS, GET UP AND DO SOMETHING!" Bryony called out in fury as Laura looked on with the same dumbfounded face as the twenty year old girl was showing a mere minute ago.

Blinking a few times to snap back into reality, Jolteon indeed got up... but instead of performing one of the four moves he has in his moveset he walked up towards Laura's Glaceon and placed his head protectively over hers. Glaceon cooed dreamily in reply, licking her new found attractions chest and taking care not to cut herself on one of his spikes. At this point both Bryony and Laura stared on in complete disbelief as to what both of them were witnessing.

"What is going on?" both girls cried out in concerned unison. Nineteen members of the watching crowd were also wondering what game was being played but one member was very clued up. She was only a very young girl of around eight years old and dressed head to toe in a variety of different shades of pink but she knew from the body language of the two Eeveelutions exactly what was happening in front of everyone.

"They are in love!" she squealed happily, clapping her hands together upon seeing such a vision of cuteness.

The crowd all gave an "Aaaah" in unison upon the young girl's words as two female trainers sharing the same shocked face looked at each other before looking at the pair of Pokemon in front of them. Bryony was watching her Jolteon carefully nuzzle his new love Glaceon, who was happily taking in the affection, an action that was being watched by her trainer, Laura. Eventually the two girls snapped out of their shock and walked towards the centre of the arena were the two element creatures were. As the crowd all parted in different directions to talk about the battle they had witnessed and the unlikely ending that happened, Bryony and Laura each held out their right hand and shook each others.

"Shall we call this a draw then Laura?"

"That sounds a fair deal to me."

"So what happens now then?" questioned Bryony, breaking the short silence that bestowed the four of them. She shot a glance at the midnight sky, finally noting that it was now night time before taking a glance at Laura, who was contentedly watching Jolteon and Glaceon display their affection towards each other. A smile appeared on the thirteen year old girls face as she flicked back some of her hair to enjoy more of the scenes.

"Well it does seem like you and I are going to be stuck to each other for the next few days thanks to our Pokemon..." Laura began, not lifting her glance away from the two elemental creatures. "Besides!" she called out a little louder, redirecting her glance back to Bryony while playfully poking her shoulder a few times. "I need to tell you more about what Sinnoh has to offer! Stuff that map of yours, my word of mouth is where it's at!"

"Your cheeky brat!" Bryony sniped back, whacking away Laura's finger with her hand. "But you are right... and I think our Pokemon will like that as well."

"Then it is settled!"

"Jolt jolt jolty!"

"Cee ceeee glaceeee!"

Much as she hated to admit it as she was so used to just travelling by herself, Bryony was rather enjoying being around Laura. To start with it was only because her Jolteon had decided that Laura's Glaceon was ideal material to start up a relationship with but eventually her feelings changed. This girl was a great companion to be around despite there being a seven year age difference between the two.

For the next forty-eight hours that was how it was... the four of them, two in human form and two in Pokemon form, wandering around Snowpoint City. Jolteon and Glaceon were kept out of their Pokeballs so they could be with each other for as long as they could, something they both naturally enjoyed as they bounced around by their trainers like a pair of candy fuelled toddlers. This didn't bother Bryony and Laura one bit as Laura was telling Bryony as much as she knew about Sinnoh over many vanilla sodas and ice creams at the parlour. It also didn't bother the two girls that Jolteon and Glaceon leapt into a fountain and soaked them with their childlike yet somewhat romantic antics. However there were two things that bothered Bryony solely... two stuble hints that she wasn't sure Laura had picked up upon but she noticed regardless.

The first hint was at the end of the first full day of the quartet hanging around with each other. As she was also staying in the Pokemon Center because of her plan to visit Hoenn, Bryony and Laura spent time together with Jolteon and Glaceon in Laura's room. However when Bryony called it a night and told Jolteon that they were heading on their way he spent an unusual amount of time moping around like a lost Mareep, snuggling Glaceon protectively and making soft, low whines that Bryony just about heard. The next morning she shrugged off Jolteon's display of sadness but it was only for a few hours, as when Bryony went to hand Laura her map of Hoenn that she amazingly still had with her the Lightning Pokemon leapt up his trainer with one energetic bound and cleanly snatched it out of Bryony's hand with one gripping bite. Jolteon then ran off into the distance with it, Glaceon following as she was thinking the exact same thing as her boyfriend. Laura had a look of bemusement on her face from it all but in that moment Bryony twigged. She may not have had much luck with relationships herself when travelling, but she knew what Jolteon was thinking...

"You don't want to be separated from Glaceon, do you?"

Night had started to fall on the end of the second full day and the last day before Bryony set off to explore Sinnoh and Laura boarded the S.S Tidal for its return to Hoenn. Laura and Glaceon had already said their goodbyes as exhaustion had crept up with them quicker than it did Bryony and Jolteon and had headed off to the Pokemon Center to get a refreshing night of sleep. Bryony was sitting rather nonchalantly on a bench that was overlooking the crystal clear waters that surrounded the port of Snowpoint. Jolteon was still out of his Pokeball, sitting next to his trainer with a rather emotionless expression on his face. He had heard his trainer say something to him but his mind was too clouded over for him to hear exactly what it was. Jolteon's thoughts were too busy occupied on life without the girl he had only known for a short space of a time but one who would always hold a place in his heart... his precious Glaceon.

"Jolteon?" Bryony asked a bit louder, twirling a piece of hair between her fingers.

"Te?"

"You don't want to be separated from Glaceon, do you?" the girl originally from Kanto asked again.

Jolteon heard the question in full this time and turned to look his trainer in the eye. He shook his head violently before letting a tear stream down his sunshine yellow face. Bryony saw this and felt a pain of guilt go through her heart. Wrapping her arms around her self-proclaimed "pride and joy" she pulled Jolteon closer to her body and felt that guilty feeling grow that little bit more as she was now certain that Jolteon was crying into her t-shirt.

"Come on Jolteon, please..." Bryony began, stroking the spikes on her Pokemon's body comfortingly, although she wasn't sure if that was helping much. "We both knew it was going to be like this. Tomorrow at this time Laura and Glaceon..." she stopped to hold Jolteon tighter before continuing, "Tomorrow at this time they will both be on that liner sailing towards Hoenn and we will be someway away from this city as we explore this region. You know that i've wanted to visit Sinnoh for such a fucking long time now..."

"But Sinnoh will still be around for many years to come!" interrupted a child like female voice.

"What the..." Bryony said in wonder, turning around to see who the voice belonged to.

"Hello again!"

"Oh... hi there. I wasn't expecting to see you again, if i'm to be honest." the flame haired Bryony spoke with a slight sigh as she recognised the person behind that childish tone of voice. It belonged to the young girl who was one of the twenty people to witness Bryony and Laura's battle two days before, the young girl who enjoyed dressing up in pink from the ties in her blonde hair to the shoelaces on her trainers, the young girl who was the first to notice Jolteon and Glaceon's mutual attraction towards each other. Giggling a little she sat down on the bench next to Bryony, who still had her arms wrapped around her currently highly emotional Jolteon.

There was nothing spoken between the two females for a few minutes, the only sounds being heard were of the sharp night breeze making its presence known between the leaves of the nearby trees and of Jolteon, who had by now fallen asleep and was leaning against Bryony rather awkwardly. However the silence was then broken by the younger female, who had gotten bored of admiring the view and flicking her pigtails about.

"So why is it important that you travel around Sinnoh tomorrow? It's not like you are here to challenge the gyms otherwise you would have went to Twinleaf Town by now."

Bryony sighed once again, taking note of her Eeveelutions sleeping status before delivering a mini speech filled with sincere honesty. "I have wanted to come here for eighteen months and every time I heard a trainer in Hoenn brag about how he or she was going to Sinnoh in a few days time it annoyed me greatly. Now I am here and living my dream and I do not want to give it up after three fucking days. Although..." she trailed off.

"Although what?" the pink clad blonde asked cheerily, smiling at how Jolteon looked so adorable when asleep.

"Jolteon here holds a special place in my heart. He has been with me the longest since becoming a trainer ten years ago and well, to see him find someone that he clearly loves makes me happy even though I am shit at relationships myself. I just feel bad about it yet..." Bryony trailed off again with no intention of finishing what she was going to say. The girl noticed that and spoke for herself.

"Love..." she began.

"What about it already?" Bryony asked somewhat impatiently, attention now concentrating on the stars that were starting to blossom and flourish in the sky of the deepest blue.

"It's a finicky thing, love." the girl smiled sweetly, not bothered one bit that Bryony wasn't looking at her directly. "It can come in the most unusual of times and take so much control over your heart that you don't want to let it go. That's not what love wants either... it wants to stay with you for as long as possible. It is a changer of paths." By this point Bryony had turned back to face the girl, somewhat entranced at how such a young child was trying to innocently explain such a strong emotion. The girl giggled at this and continued.

"Love will stay with you for however long it sees fit. It could be for two days, it could even be two years... yet during that time it wants to stay it its strongest and if that means that you have to resort to changing paths in life then that suits it fine. Love truly is an amazing feeling." she finished, clasping her hands together and letting out a sigh of complete happiness.

"Are you sure you're only a child?" was all Bryony could ask as she was still bemused at the rather philosophical mini speech she was given from such a small human being.

"Yep! I'm nearly nine years old." the girl replied happily, getting herself up off the bench to dust herself down. "What I just said to you though was what my sister told me before she found her boyfriend. She was like you but she let love change her path..." she said in a calm tone of voice as she started to walk away from the bench. Bryony didn't follow her movements as she was still trying to get it through her head that some random child who watched her battle had spent a good ten minutes telling her about how amazing love is...

"Bryony." the girl spoke again. The twenty year old finally turned around to face the eight year old pink obsessed female, who was flicking her hair again.

"Change your path. If you won't change for me... which I highly doubt... then change for your Jolteon, your "pride and joy". Love won't let go of his heart otherwise." with that said the young girl then skipped off towards a group of adults, who Bryony assumed were her family.

Looking back towards the view of the waters around the port of Snowpoint, Bryony rubbed the temples of her head with her fingers, trying to get around the fact that a mere child of all people had spouted off this speech about how strong love is and that she should change her path... the path to travel Sinnoh... for her lovestruck Jolteon, who did express earlier that he would miss his Glaceon lover very much. Scooping up her faithful Pokemon partner in her arms Bryony hoisted herself off the bench and slowly walked back toward the Pokemon Center. Much as she still found this whole recent scenario bizarre, Bryony also knew that the young girl had a good point. Love is a strong emotion and it will only let go whenever it's ready...

The next day began with a constant flurry of glorious bright sunshine, shining through all the windows in the buildings that littered Snowpoint City in an attempt to wake everybody up. It certainly woke up Laura, who called herself an idiot under her breath for not closing the curtains before going to sleep. Looking over to the clock to make sure that she didn't have to rush around like a lunatic on her final morning in Sinnoh, Laura threw off the covers of her bed and started to get ready, taking care not to wake up her Glaceon, who had been sleeping out of her Pokeball for the last two nights. After checking that everything was in her bag ready for her new adventure in the historic and rugged region of Hoenn and that she had the tickets to board the S.S Tidal that would take her to the new land, Laura gently shook her Glaceon awake.

"Ce ce?"

"Hey there girl, waken up! Today is the day that we start our adventure!" Laura announced proudly but soon gained an expression of concern when she saw that Glaceon didn't gain her enthusiasm.

"Look girl, I know it will be hard to be away from Jolteon, but Bryony has just come from Hoenn herself and has wanted to be here for such a long time now. I tell you what; shall we pop by their room before setting off? We still have a couple of hours."

"Ce! Ceeee! Glaceon cee cee!" replied Glaceon in a slightly perkier tone of voice. She personally would have preferred to have seen Jolteon for a much longer time than a few minutes but any time with the one she loved is always good time.

After locking the room that they had occupied for the last forty eight hours both Laura and Glaceon raced down the corridor towards the room that Bryony and Jolteon were staying. Within a few seconds they were there and Laura knocked on the door loudly so that the new friend she had made and her Pokemon would hear. The pair waited for a short period of time before Laura knocked on the door again, this time being a lot louder than the first. When again there was no answer Laura resorted to banging on the door with both of her fists in quick succession, Glaceon nearby watching and waiting rather impatiently for the door to open so she could see that lovely spiked mass of yellow and white.

"BRYONY! OPEN UP ALREADY! HAVE YOU GONE DEAF OR SOMETHING?" Laura screamed madly.

"Can I help you in any way at all?" a polite voice behind the thirteen year old asked with concern. Laura immediately stopped thumping the door like a mad woman and turned around to face Nurse Joy, who was carrying a tray full of various Pokemon medicines.

"Er... yeah actually, you can." Laura began, somewhat embarrassed at herself at being caught out like she did. "The girl who was staying in this room last night... do you know if she has gone out or something?"

Nurse Joy took a look at the room number on the door before giving Laura a definite answer. "Well if you mean the red haired girl with a Jolteon then yes, she signed out of the Pokemon Center and handed back the room key about an hour ago now."

"CEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Glaceon suddenly cried out at hearing what Nurse Joy had just said.

"WHAT?" Laura exclaimed. "DAMMIT! COME ON GLACEON, WE HAVE TO FIND THEM!" she then proclaimed with defiance.

"Cee glaceon cee glace!" replied the Fresh Snow Pokemon determinedly... and after saying a hurried thanks to the now bemused Nurse Joy, both Laura and Glaceon raced to the end of the corridor and out of the Pokemon Center quicker than a rampaging Cranidos.

The next hour and a half was spent charging around Snowpoint City trying to locate Laura's new friend Bryony and Glaceon's new boyfriend Jolteon. Both human and Pokemon searched thoroughly in all the places they as a quartet spent the last couple of days around. The ice cream parlour was first, swiftly followed by the fountain in which Glaceon and Jolteon dived in that one time like they were a pair of Marill. They also checked around the Pokemon Center three times to make definitely sure and there was also the Pokemart and even around the building that was Snowpoint City's gym... but as time was running out so was both the hopes of Laura and Glaceon. Laura's hope diminished because she wanted to say thanks to Bryony for the last couple of days, but Glaceon's hope was shattered far worse. Deep down she had hoped that Jolteon's trainer would have changed her mind about travelling around Sinnoh but sadly it seemed like it wasn't meant to be.

The search was grudgingly stopped a mere fifteen minutes before the S.S Tidal would depart from the port of Snowpoint and set sail back to Hoenn. Clearly exhausted from running around like madcap lunatics, both Laura and Glaceon decided to catch their breath back bench very close to the liner before boarding... and with the hope of ever seeing Bryony and Jolteon again now clearly gone there was nothing that the thirteen year old could do any more for her beloved Pokemon...

"Glaceon, i'm so sorry that it had to come to this, really I am." Laura finally managed to gasp between breaths... but there was no reply from the Pokemon of the ice element. Her head was facing down towards the ground and the thoughts that she would never see her darling Jolteon again clouded her mind something terribly. It was all too much for Glaceon to take and eventually she started to sob, a single tear trailing down her face and off her chin, making a single speck of ground turn into a darker brown. Laura noticed this and within an instant wrapped her arms around Glaceon in a protective embrace.

"Chin up girl..." Glaceon's trainer spoke with encouragement. "It's not the end of the world, really..."

"Of course not, cause today is the day that paths will change, Laura..." spoke a younger female voice, making both Laura and Glaceon turn to face where the sound come from in one sudden motion.

"YOU!" Laura said with sharpness as she instantly recognised who the voice belonged to. It was the young girl that witnessed the battle between both her and Bryony three days ago, that very same pink clad blonde haired cherub like girl who had spoken to Bryony only the night before. "How in the world did you know my name?" she then questioned, as she was sure her name wasn't mentioned throughout the battle.

"Oh, Bryony told me!" the young girl replied matter of factly, shrugging her shoulders before gesturing both Laura and Glaceon to look at the view beyond her. Trainer and Pokemon did so with some concern but when they saw what the young girl wanted them to see that concern was dropped like a ton of bricks. For running up towards them and the younger female was a familiar sight that they had both seen a lot of the past few days...

Bryony and Jolteon.

"CEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Laura's Pokemon proclaimed with complete and utter joy, bounding towards Jolteon as if she had a set of helium filled balloons tied on her ankles

"JOLT JOLT JOLTEON!" was the ecstatic reply from Bryony's Pokemon, pouncing on his lover once they were close enough to be in contact. The two them proceeded to roll around and around and around letting out continuous cries of joy.

"Love... gotta love it?" Bryony said as a half hearted attempt at a joke once she had caught up towards both Laura and the young girl. The young girl nodded as her reply but Laura frowned, folding her arms.

"WHERE IN THE DAMNED HELL HAVE YOU BEEN?" was all Laura could scream out, a mixture of anger and delight consuming her. Anger that Bryony just decided to appear out of the blue a few minutes before Laura went to Hoenn, delight at she actually did see her new friend before she went...

"Oh, I was at Amber's..." Bryony replied calmly, placing her hands on the shoulder of the young girl to indicate that she indeed was Amber. "Her sister lent me a t-shirt as mine was getting a bit scabby and in the backpack there is plenty of grub for the four of us to share... believe me when I say that the food on the liner is fucking vile..."

"Wait a minute, the FOUR of us?"

"Methinks I am hearing an echo around here..."

"But I thought you wanted to travel around Sinnoh. I thought this was your dream to be here and see what there was to see." Laura said with bemusement.

"That was until our Pokemon fell in love. Love is a finicky emotion Laura, it wants to stay as strong as possible and if that means that paths have to be changed then so be it."

Amber nodded happily at what Bryony just said. "Changing paths."

"Besides..." Bryony said teasingly, poking Laura's shoulder repeatedly, "I need to tell you more about what Hoenn has to offer! Stuff any maps that you intend to buy, my word of mouth is where it's at!"

"Aaaaah! Quit the poking already!"

"Jolt jolt jolteon!"

"Glaceon cee glaceeee!"

After saying their goodbyes to the pink obsessed child that was Amber, Bryony and Laura together with Jolteon and Glaceon, their pair of Pokemon, boarded the S.S Tidal ready for departure towards Hoenn and the majestic port that resided in Lilycove City. They were just in time too, not a minute of them being on board the liner had passed before the foghorns went off to signal that all systems were go and that Snowpoint City was being left behind.

Leaving Laura to help herself to whatever food she had got from Amber's house and shoved in her backpack, Bryony solemnly walked from the interior of the liner to the deck that was outside. She leant over the sturdy white barrier that stopped anyone or anything from falling into the water below and let off a little sigh as Snowpoint City became a speck in the distance. By now the wind had started to caress her hair violently, putting it into all sort of shapes which was starting to piss her off. She was about to scream when...

"Jolt jolteon..."

"Cee ceeee glaceon..."

Bryony turned around suddenly and saw that her ever loyal Jolteon and the Glaceon that Laura loved so much were a short distance away, both of them also leaning over the barrier to enjoy the view. The pair of Pokemon were licking and nuzzling each other, clearly overwhelmed with the idea that the two would be together for a long time to come, as Bryony promised her "pride and joy" that she was going to travel around with Laura for however long Glaceon's trainer was okay with that.

A smile crept upon the flame haired girl's face as she rummaged in the pockets of her black jeans to find something. After a few seconds Bryony pulled out what she was looking for... the map of Sinnoh that she had brought for herself just three days ago. With one clear and precise flick of the hand Bryony flung the map into the sea waters below and turned back to admire how close Jolteon and Glaceon were...

"Cause after all, for love to truly run its course alterations have to be made... and for you Jolteon, changing my path so you could be happy was nothing, nothing at all."


End file.
